The Intent Behind It

Thus, Havenlight spent two turbulent days under lockdown.

The massive barrier remained active around the clock. Priests and Paladins patrolled everywhere, while the Kingdom Army practically turned the entire place upside down. Yet in the end, no one could find any trace of the king. He and the mage who had abducted him seemed to have evaporated from the world.

This outcome naturally stirred up another wave of public debate, but so far, The Church had offered no answer capable of calming the masses. Pope Grant, who had claimed he was going to commune with divine will, still had not shown himself.

What exactly was the Pope doing? Such a huge incident had occurred, so why was he still refusing to come out and do something? Everyone was mired in such doubts, but The Church remained silent.

Meanwhile, on a secluded street in the outer district...

"Y-you're that child from the Riser Family?"

In the bedroom of a private home, the king sat up from the bed. Staring at Benjamin's face, he wore a somewhat blank and puzzled expression.

"That's right, Your Majesty. It's me." Benjamin smiled and nodded.

"What do you want? I... how did I end up here?" After a moment of stunned silence, the king suddenly became flustered. He instinctively shrank back, unmistakable terror showing in his eyes.

"The Church imprisoned you in a basement on the grounds that you had fallen under evil magic. Have you forgotten?" Benjamin, however, looked concerned. "I broke into St. Peter's Cathedral alone and rescued you."

Hearing this, the king hesitated. "You... why did you save me?"

"Because the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and we share the same enemy—The Church." Benjamin guided him patiently. "Have you forgotten how those priests rode roughshod over everyone, using grandiose justifications to